This weekend was an amazing flurry of activities, ranging from an early morning soccer game in the north part of Reno, schlepping kids to an fro a variety of activities to getting out myself and running - with people this time - to bike shopping. All that folded into the usual (and boring) stuff like shopping, sprinkler repair, laundry, cooking...

The weekend started with a Moonlight Lunarcy run under the almost-Super moon on Friday night. It was beautifully clear, though a bit chilly I wore shorts, and at the end decided splitting quickly rather than chatting was the better part of heat-retention valor. Though I looked for wererabbits and weremice under the full moon, none were to be had this time (No werewolves either, for that matter). I went with were-Bret, were-Kari (both fresh off their tremendous performances at the Eugene Marathon) and were-Joe on a relaxed and spectacular jaunt through the lower parts of Ash Canyon.

The moonlit landscape was surreal and calming. It would have been a totally chill run (both temperature and mood), if not for the doofi (the plural of doofus) in the truck trying to get out of the sandy wash. Loud, obnoxious, but entertaining. Sounds like a wine review.

Saturday morning was soccer. Mikaela had a great game, except for when she fell on her bum, directly in front of all the spectators. What made it funny, is she was walking backwards, and play hadn't yet resumed after an out of bounds ball. She just fell over. Hilarious. Even she thought so. Afterward.

The game ended in a draw. Mikaela's team had a perfectly executed long pass and breakaway, but the goal was called back on a dubious offsides call. Regardless of the call, the play was beautiful.

Saturday night was a fundraiser for the kids' school. An open bar opened the wallets for both the live and silent auctions. From what I could tell, the event was a success. I met a very interesting man from Zimbabwe. He is the kind of person you want to have to dinner - and not because he's a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, though that is a definite benefit!

Sunday dawned bright, and reasonably warm: time to run!

The crew, ready to run-ble.

Joe, doing his "Wrong-way" Corrigan imitation.

Joe beginning his campaign for school board at the flag. :-)

What an inviting trail...

Down is faster and a lot steeper than up!

Had a good-sized group appear at 8:00 on Sunday for the run. Nobody did the 3 mile option, a couple did the 5, a couple did an unadvertised 6-ish, a couple more the 11 and a few pushed the middle part of the 11 route to make a 16. Angela, Adam and Puff disappeared up Shotgun Canyon early on to do their own thing. We didn't encounter and snakes; sheep only in the distance, and no injuries to report (a jammed toe while wearing Vibram 5-fingers, doesn't count.)

After the run, for me it was off to the bike shop. Chris Huber (who set the land speed record on a bike in 1992) has recently opened a new shop in town. We've known Chris for a while, so we patronized his place, looking to get Risa a bike so we can start doing some family-related physical activity. She test rode a few and will be getting one by next weekend (I think). I dropped my Rocky Mountain Rail for some much needed maintenance and tuning. Then it was off to Mills Park, so Mikaela and a friend could do some low-key riding. I chilled with my Kindle (reading Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man, if you're interested), finally relaxing.

No this isn't the Weekend Update of my youth, with the anchor telling me, "Good evening. I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not." If you don't get it, you're too young. Ask your Uncle Google, and get off my lawn.

This weekend was an interesting, for several disparate reasons. The first one, chronologically, at least happened on Friday: I became officially unemployed. I don't expect that condition to last any longer than 8:00 am tomorrow morning, though, when I sign my employment papers for my new position. As my father (RIP) told me oh, so many years ago, "Never leave a job with no place to land." Ever since that advice, I've never resigned one position without a second already arranged. It made sense to me then as a teenager and it makes even more sense to me now as a parent. I will keep a job regardless of how unpleasant the work, or the conditions, if I have my kids to provide for. I will admit, I've never had a really ugly, shitty job though. If I did, my absolute statement may not stand.

The second thing that happened was my daughter participated in a 3 vs. 3 soccer tournament. I hadn't seen one of them before, and I must say, they are fun to watch. It's kind of like Futsal, but outdoors with a smaller goal and no keeper. Her team, CSC U10 won their age division with a 3-0-1 record, outscoring their opponents 16-6 (1-1, 5-2, 5-1, 5-2). Congratulations, Mikaela, you and your teammates played awesomely! And it truly was a team effort. The passing was what really made the difference. The weather, was not a factor, though...

Winter made an appearance in mid-March. That's not unexpected, but really? Really? After a super dry (though chilly) Dec - Feb., March has come to call, both cold and wet. Three inches of snow on the ground when we left for the final game today, but only a bit left on the field as you can see from the photo. That wasn't the tough part: the tough part was the raw 20+ mph winds and mid 30sF temps. Brrr. I think the parents deserved medals for standing in it like frozen statues. All applause was muffled by gloves: whump, whump, whump.

I had been planning on spending my Saturday in Fernley in the warm confines of a gymnasium, leaving the cold of the soccer pitch to my blushing bride. But my man-cub forgot his wrestling gear, and so attending the tournament was a no-go. I played the gallant, and offered to do the soccer thing. An offer that was accepted almost before I finished offering. Well, hmm. We'll have to see what that gets me. Karma points anyone?